***Solving Our Biggest Problem

        The biggest problem mankind must deal with is sin. Since we are all sinners and "love" to sin, this problem is impossible for us to solve on our own. We are always struggling with whether to sin or not to sin. Because of it, the world has become a chaotic, godless "sinhole" which can easily sink our souls. It's obvious that we cannot be truly happy here. The great news is that Christ can get us into heaven when we depart this life, for he created the earth and all of us and is the only one who can take away our sins. When we are freed from sin, we become free indeed.

***A Much Better Choice*

         People put off facing God and focus upon reaping rewards in this life. But it'd be infinitely better for them to get to know God now and be rewarded with eternal life later. 

***To Stand Before the Lord

          What Jesus said in today's Gospel acclamation, Like 21:36, is especially appropriate for us now: "Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man." The tribulations are already here, but we'll still need to stand before Christ one day. And that won't be easy unless we are ready. Actually, the Lord is before us at all times; therefore, the smart move would be to get ready now so that we'll be ready anytime he calls us to stand before him.

***What God Needs from Us

        We hear a lot of horrible news daily. Look at the current Afghanistan situation. What can we ordinary citizens do about it. We can voice our opinions and protest, etc., but evil has infiltrated our government, our Church, and our societies. It all comes down to whether we obey God or not. So the best action we the faithful can take is still to pray extra hard and convert ourselves first, thus lending the Lord maximum support. The Lord needs our allegiance and obedience most of all. To surrender ourselves to him must be our first priority and this is the perfect time to do that when he needs us most. This way, the Lord can make things turn out best for him and all of us. Yes, our faith and trust are crucial to his and our success. 

**Interesting phenomenon

***Our Greatest Joy

         Looking back on my past, I recall the emergencies, unpleasant situations, stressful times, physical and mental sufferings, etc., which I had gone thru. But since I have finally found Christ to be my dear Lord and God, all those experiences no longer matter. In fact, I am thankful that it was thru them that I was lead to the truth. Once you have the truth, you are so happy that nothing else matters anymore. It's like once you get to heaven, your life on earth, no matter how miserable it might have been, is all forgotten. The eternal God is all we need to have, for he is our greatest joy!

**Inescapable from God

        It is an inescapable fact that we cannot avoid, hide from, or get away from God ever. His presence is more certain than our own existence, for he created the universe, us, and everything else. Therefore, to live as if God doesn't exist makes you the greatest fool in the whole universe, which is exactly what Satan wants.

***Our Last Times

         In another prophetic message, we are warned that these times thru which we are living will be our last on earth. This adds great urgency to our times now. The time to repent and convert is now, not later! I surely do not wish to be caught unprepared unexpectedly, for the consequences would be unimaginable. God has been so kind and patient. If we get shut out of his kingdom, we have only ourselves to blame.

**Doing It for God

         We do a lot of things to please ourselves, but things don't always turn out the way we'd expected. Then we become unhappy. It can be like that our whole life. Here's the superior way. I see myself as a servant of the Lord, so my duty is to serve him. Even if I must do something that's unpleasant but necessary, I see it as serving him and it becomes easy, and I even feel honored. This way, no matter how things turn out, I retain peace. Of course, the reward you'll receive in the end will literally be out of this world.

***No Longer Amazed by God

        I already know that God is so great, so loving, and that nothing is impossible for him. To me, it's obvious that no one, nothing, can possibly be more amazing than our God. Therefore, he no longer amazes me.

**How Much Do You Know the Lord?

        John 10:27, today's Gospel acclamation: My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me. Of course, following Jesus has to be following him willingly and gladly, not in any way forcing yourself to do it. If that's the case, then you and the Lord know each other well. Otherwise, you don't know him well enough yet. Life is all about how much we and the Lord know each other. Do you know that if you let him know all of you, he reveals all of himself to you too?

***Rejecting the Greatest Offer

        God has sent his only begotten Son to us to die for us so that we may have eternal life. This is a huge deal. So if we reject the Son, we reject God's love for us, and you can be sure that this would cause serious consequences.

*****The Transformation That Perfects Us

        I attended the 8 AM Mass. Fr. S gave a great uplifting homily. During the liturgy of the Eucharist, the bread and wine were transformed into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. I saw that this was the transformation that could perfect our own transformation. Thank you and praise be to you, my Lord and God.

***No. 1 Prayer Request***

        With the world in disarray, the things we need to pray for seem to be endless. Then I heard the Lord asking us to pray for our own submission to him first. If we are still in rebellion and ask him to make the world peaceful for us, he'd be less inclined to take us seriously. But if we are in total union with him, he would fulfill all our desires without our asking. Once we all put our own house in order, there'd be nothing for us to be concerned about. 

***Massive Crime Against Humanity

        I have shown that in this country, since abortion was legalized in 1973, over 60 million babies had been aborted through 2017 (see my video). The US population of 2017 was around 325 million. If there had been no abortion, the population would have exceeded 385 million. Not counting the abortions that took place before legalization, we can say that in 2017 at least close to 16% of the US population never lived to see the daylight (60/385=15.84%). This has to be a massive crime committed against humanity and, of course, God.

**Way to Peace and Joy

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus said to the crowds and disciples, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." This great counsel not only shows the way to entering heaven, but also helps me in living my daily life. For example, right now I may get the chance to exhibit my photographs at a museum. (Someone proposed that for me.) That would be nice, giving others the pleasure of looking at some beautiful images. I should feel excited about that, right? Well, not really. If it interferes with my spiritual life and/or get me exalted, it wouldn't be good for me. So I remain calm about the the whole thing. If I don't get that chance, I wouldn't feel disappointed at all. It's in God alone that you find true peace and joy. 

***Rendering Satan Powerless*

        Do you know that you can totally control Satan? If you decide to fight any temptation head-on, believing that you are strong enough, you'll lose. The smart way to beat Satan is to seek refuge in the Lord and Satan won't be able to touch you. God may allow him to attack you to test you, but if you ignore him, you'll be completely safe. 

*****The Process of Spiritual Growth*****

        Many of us are sincerely trying to grow spiritually. Here is some good encouraging news. If you try on your own, you'll find making progress hard and slow. But if you surrender yourself to God first, the whole game changes because Almighty God is now involved. This change does not happen quickly, as surrendering to God is not normally our cup of tea. But you will definitely experience that the more you submit yourself to God, the easier it becomes to do his will. Amazed by your own progress, the surrendering process starts to accelerate and you start to fall in love with God. Eventually, you come to know and love the Lord so much that you abandon yourself completely to him. With the aid of the Holy Eucharist, union with God is attained. At this point, growing spiritually becomes effortless, since you are finally letting the Lord do all the work for you. What a joyful state!

*****Power of the Holy Spirit*****

        Today Fr. Goring talks about invoking the Holy Spirit in his video. In the last part beginning at 1:39, the message given by the Lord thru St. Maryam completely resonates with me; it is beautiful. We need to pray to the Holy Spirit daily asking him to renew us. Then miracle will happen! I can personally testify to that. (Note that it was by the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, that Jesus was first conceived and later raised from the dead. Surely this same Spirit can transform us into holy saints.)

***God, the Source of Mercy*

         From God, his mercy pours out on all of us. Without his mercy, we are doomed. With his mercy, we are saved. His mercy is essential to our existence. Take advantage of it, for it's free and infinite, but you'll have to want it. Acknowledge that your survival is totally dependent upon his mercy. Pray "Lord, have mercy on us" unceasingly. When we appreciate God's mercy, we are saved! The evildoers are to be pitied for ignoring or rejecting this life-saving gift that comes from heaven. Pray the Divine Mercy chaplet. Read St. Faustina's Diary, a beautiful inspiring book. Love the Lord and rejoice in his great mercy!

**Learning How to Love from God*

        God is so loving that he wants us to love our enemies. He wants us to pray for the conversion of all evildoers, his enemy, and not wish them ill. This is something we followers need to learn from the Lord. To wish ill on anyone shows that we do not know how great God's love is yet. To learn from God is learn how he loves. God does not want us to condemn anyone. That's why he does not want us to judge anyone. If we hate anyone, we follow Satan, not the Lord.

*To Be Happy Now or Forever

        We all want to live happily in this life, but without God, it'd be impossible for us to succeed, I can tell you that. It is more important that you'll have a happy death and most importantly, a happy afterlife. With God, all three goals can be attained. In fact, a happy death and a happy afterlife are assured. To be happy in this life matters the least, for in the overall scheme of things, our life doesn't last much longer than the blink of an eye. 

***Simple and Reliable Guide for Us

        The world can perish, with all the things in it. Everything passes except the Lord God. If we hold onto him, we become everlasting like him! So let everything go and hold onto Christ our Lord and Savior. This is such a simple and reliable guide for us. He is the only shining beacon in this universe and beyond, for he is the Lord of all. Without him, we would have totally darkness. Wake up, while the light is still shining. Lose him and you live in darkness forever.

*****Falling in Love with God (Love)

        God is love. If you fall in love with God, you are in love with love and that love can completely transform you. Love is God's power that can vanquish all evil and transport us to paradise. Falling in love with love is the most exalted feeling you can ever have on earth. To experience that, all you need to do is be wide open to God to let him reveal himself to you fully, then you can't help but fall in love with him. Yes, he becomes your Lord and soulmate. The opposite to falling in love with God is unthinkable, for you could end up hating everyone and yourself for all eternity.

***When to Get Ready

        Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah centuries later. Today we are seeing many things happening that were prophesied two millenniums ago. At present we do sense the urgency of numerous warnings coming to us from heaven through many seers. The Lord himself had asked us to remain ready and alert always, for he'd be coming again. Whether prophecies will be fulfilled soon or later, our Lord has given us the best advice. More to the point, since we may die and face the Lord anytime, shouldn't we get ready right now? You can wait until that last moment, but that's taking an awfully big chance. Besides, the Lord can spot your insincerity instantly. Thinking that you can outsmart the Lord is surely not a smart move.

**God's Miracles

        It seems that all the other planets are all barren except our earth. I believe that God created the earth just right for us to live on. Today after visiting a friend, I saw on the way home the sun in the smoky sky. I could directly look at it, and it looked as big as the moon. I know it's so much bigger and farther away than the moon, yet God placed the moon at the right distance so that it blocks the sun perfectly during a total eclipse. This to me is also a great miracle of God.   

**Us Against Ourselves*

         This is not a new message. I am giving it a little differently because it is an important basic message. We can safely leave Satan out of the picture when we focus on the Lord God alone. Living is all about deciding whether to submit yourself to God or not. In most cases, we struggle with this question our whole life. Yet unknowingly, we know that we'll be facing the Lord alone one day. It won't be like facing a judge in a court on earth where you can hire lawyers to speak for you. We'll have to answer to the Lord for everything we've done ourselves. Anyway, know that the Lord loves you and is totally on your side, so give in to him. Stopping fighting yourself and submitting yourself to God go hand in hand—they are the two prongs of attack for restoring harmony with heaven and bringing peace to yourself on earth.

*****Most Glorious Miracle*****

        The last Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary is The Institution of the Holy Eucharist. It is a miracle that the Lord changes bread and wine into his own flesh and blood. This is not one of those miracles you can see and would say wow after seeing it. To me, this is the most glorious of all miracles because it is most personal and humble. The Lord offering himself to us, again. It should absolutely humble us and make us praise and thank him forever! (To learn more about the Eucharist, search "Eucharist" or "Eucharistic miracle" on this blog.)

**Becoming Free of the Past

        Because wildfire smoke has polluted the air outdoors, I've been doing my daily walk inside the house. This morning I noticed the tiled floor I was walking on and recalled the unpleasant experience I had with the tile layer over a decade ago. He was a personable, cordial young man. Immediately after the job was done, I had to get him back to replace some cracked tiles. He showed up, no problem. I trusted in him and wasn't even around when he finished the repairs and left. After I got home, I noticed that the long extension ladder in my garage was gone. This ladder belonged to a handyman who was still doing work around the house. I was puzzled. Luckily, my son's camera at the gate had recorded all the people who entered and left our property that day. The recording showed that the ladder was on the truck of my tile guy on his way out. Of course, we confronted him and got the ladder back. I didn't press charges against him though. Incidents such as this one tend to stick in one's memory. Then I saw that I must let the Lord truly be my refuge. Then I would not look back on the past anymore—he must now occupy my mind my entire life. This is how we become free of the past.

**Not of Our Concern

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 20, we have the parable of the workers of the vineyard. In it, all workers hired at different times of the day got paid the same at the end of the day, and this made the ones hired first unhappy. Jesus concluded the parable by saying: "Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last." What I learned here was that the Lord wants us to serve him well and not be concerned about whether we get rewarded first or last, or the most or the least. Getting rewarded by him alone is good enough. Jealousy has no place when you work for the Lord. If you want to get to heaven ahead of all others who go there, you may not even make it.

**Power of God's Word

        Today's Gospel acclamation, Hebrew 4:12. "The word of God is living and effective, able to discern the reflections and thoughts of the heart." In Matthew 4, Jesus said to the tempter, quoting from Deuteronomy 8, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'" John 14:23: "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." May I add that being attentive to the word of God can totally transform us; we come to know the Lord and ourselves thoroughly. And it's by the word of God that we are drawn into union with the Word, our God.

*****Trust in God's Saving Power

         We are now anticipating the Illumination of Conscience to take place any day now. It should be obvious that God can make you see your own conscience clearly no matter what mental or physical condition you are in. I've heard about people who just before they died were given one more chance by God to see their sins and repent. The Lord really wants to save everyone. I've mentioned visiting someone recently in a coma and dying. When I prayed aloud, repenting our sins and asking the Lord to forgive us, and told him that we loved him . . . that person opened his eyes once and started moving his lips as if he's praying too. It's possible that he was receiving that last grace from the Lord. So my advice is never stop praying for anyone even if it seems that the person's mind is gone. The Lord God can always make that person see what he wishes him or her to see! Trust in God fully and leave the salvation to him. 

***Soul over All Else***

        As usual, wildfires have spread across the state due to extreme dry conditions. Residents of some neighboring counties have had to evacuate from their homes. One fire started just 30 miles away from here. Today the sun seen through the smoke and haze is all red again. If a fire threatens your home, you pretty much have to leave all material possessions behind and run. I'll probably grab my laptop first. Then, even if you are not threatened in any way like this in your lifetime, you still must leave everything behind when you die. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." Avoid wild fires if you can, but never ever fall into the fires of hell. Material things you can let go, but never your own soul because it's treasured by God!

***Crucifixion Not to Be Ignored***

        Jesus did die on the cross. Did he really die for our sins? If you are aware that you are a sinner, then you must look into this, for it could make your life meaningful for all eternity. There are already multitudes of us who can testify to you that Christ is the true God and are willing to even die for him, for his love is that great. As far as I know, he is the only person impossible to dismiss, for he created us and will judge us after we die. (If you are smart, you would become one with him now and banish all worries from now on. This may sound too good to be true, but truth sounds good because it is true.) 

***God's Amazing Mercy*

        Today Tuesday I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. The last decade was on the Crucifixion. Two criminals were crucified alongside of Jesus. One of them hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? We have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." The he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Here we see the amazing mercy of Jesus. This criminal reconciled himself to God was instantly saved. I believe that his suffering on the cross was his purgatory. That's why he was able to be in Paradise with the Lord on the same day. 

***How God Sees

        Jesus said, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Here is an interpretation of that: The more we see ourselves as nothing but wretched sinners, the more he sees that he can transform us into great saints.

**Beyond Keeping the Commandments*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 19, a young man asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus answered him, "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "All of them I have observed. What do I still lack?"Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The young man heard the statement and went away sad, for he had many possessions. So, observing the commandments is a start; to be perfect, you must become detached from all material possessions—actually, from everything except the the Lord. We are not perfect until we become like the Lord. And we become like the Lord when we submit ourselves completely to him. 

**Secret of Making Peace

        "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." This is one of the Beatitudes given to us by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. Surely, making peace should include making peace with yourself. Actually, make peace with the Lord first and you'll have peace with everyone else, yourself included. 

***Adoration Flash Mob

         Very cool. This happened in Preston, UK. Some people chose to kneel, while others didn't. You'll see a separation at the Second Coming of Christ too. Except this time the Lord will do the choosing.

***God Needs Our Prayer

        Heaven has been urging us to pray, pray, and pray at times like these. And I think we should sacrifice to pray as much as possible. When we pray more, we might just be able to lessen the severity or eliminate some of the chastisements on God's calendar. Right now, the Lord needs us to pray for him. You mean God needs our help? Yes, because he's trying to save all of us who have turned away from him! How well we cooperate with him will determine how well he can save us. 

**Our First Order of Business

        Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Communion experience. I felt that God the Father absolutely treasured us, so we must take the utmost care of our souls. It should be our first order of business.

**Know Who Jesus Is

         It is extremely important to know who Jesus is. He is not only a good man and a great teacher, he is also God, our creator and our Savior. If you believe all this, then you should treat him exactly as such. And you'll be rewarded amply by him.

*Wickedness = Stupidity

        Evildoers blinded by wickedness no longer see the truth. Satan knows that he can never win against God, yet he desperately fights on. Conclusion: evildoers are basically dumb. So we needn't be afraid of them at all. Instead, we should pity and pray for their conversion.

**Burdens on Your Soul

        Back to the Basics. If you do not have inner peace, that's because you have not repented of your sins to God to have them removed yet. Sins are burdens on your soul and heart. One who has his sins all forgiven by God is a new creature, for his soul and heart are no longer burdened. Now he feels free and experiences peace.

**Our Need for Humility

        Jesus, God the Son, came to us on earth. He, being God, created us and knows everything about anything, the past, the present, and what's going to come. Compare to what he knows, we know absolutely nothing! Yet we often behave as if we know more than he. This is being absurd and out of order. But if we are humble enough to realize that we can only know what he allow us to know, that is, recognizing our place before him, then we are back in his favor. Humility is a powerful virtue. It restores our relationship with God, enabling us to get all the way into heaven. So vanquish your pride with humility.

****On Verge of Self-Destruction

        In these dark, evil days, one blessing I see is that we finally realize that the only necessary, sensible, and righteous choice for us to make is to surrender ourselves to God completely. There is not another way out of our predicament, quandary, or the mess we're in due to the lack of faith in God. We are on the precipice of self-destruction unless we turn to God and convert. If you see this, then you see hope. 

**Live in Christ, Not the Past

        Some people plan a lot for their posterity. They want to be sure their family or descendants and their possessions will be taken care of. Even though they seem to be planning ahead, from the point of view of a Christian who lives in the Lord, they still seem to dwell on the past, for what will be the past in the future is important to them. When we are with Christ, we become detached from the past and no longer look back.

*Two Nice Ways of Living

        There are those who have a dream project in mind and spend much of their lifetime to make it a reality. Such projects completed can be quite beautiful or even benefit a community. This is a nice way to live. But if this is all they wish to accomplish, I feel sorry for them. For essentially they are shortsighted and still self-centered. The other nice way of living is far superior on a high level. You set your sight beyond this life. You secure your eternity first and then do everything for God's sake on earth. As a result, you enjoy freedom, peace, and joy on earth. One looks ahead, while the other only wishes to be satisfied in this life..

***Realities to Wake Up To*****

        God's mercy is infinite, while his justice is absolute. To not get forgiven by him, you have to be absolutely dull-witted! When the Lord saves you, you are saved forever! When you get yourself condemned against his will, you are doomed forever. These are the realities you should know whether you believe or not now.  

***Salvation or Damnation***

         Here is what I have come to know and believe. To be saved, all we need to do is to believe that Christ is our Lord and Savior and then follow him. To be damned, we only need to reject him as God and Savior. The God of Christ is our pivot. The choice is ours to make. Whether you believe what I believe is your choice too. The wise move is to investigate all this with an open, objective heart to arrive at your own truthful conclusion (while there's still time).